Field trips
by Rookieleaves
Summary: A series of adventures with aliens. Outings onto different planets warrants the names. Slow- moving K/S EDIT: Angst be happening, sorry, also Tarsus IV
1. Captured

An: So this is my first fan fiction, and I really want people to comment. Also if anyone wants to give me advice on how to write Chekov's and Scotty's accents that would be awesome. Lastly, if anyone would like to give me a fluffy prompt, I will write for any pairing.

EDIT: No one caught this, and if they did, they didn't tell me. I switched from first to third person about halfway through the second chapter. It's fixed now.

_Thoughts_, "Speaking", **Vulcan**

Chapter 1: Captured

_Why does the Captain always seem to antagonize me?_ Spock thought as he walked back to his quarters at the end of his shift. He purposely went out of his way to annoy him, for reasons Spock did not understand. He wound his way through the corridors, being careful to make sure that he did not touch any of the crew members. Still, he was distracted enough to not see that Uhura had stopped right in front of him.

"Spock?"

He jerked out of his reverie to see Uhura standing in front of him.

"Hello, Nyota."

"Hello, Spock."

"I must inquire as to why you stopped me."

"You looked like you needed a friend."

He raised his eyebrows, the only indication that he disagreed with her.

But Uhura knew more about him than anyone else on the crew, except perhaps for the Captain himself. "What's wrong, Spock?" she asked.

Spock raised his eyebrow again.

"Elaborate."

"Okay, well you looked lost in thought, and I thought that maybe Kirk had gotten you mad at him again, because I don't think he does that intentionally. So what's wrong?"

"Nothing is 'wrong' as you put it. I am well."

"Spock, I'm not moving until you tell me."

He had forgotten how stubborn Nyota could be.

"The Captain was being illogical."

"Well Kirk is like that most of the time, but what did he really do? Come on Spock I'm not blind, I know that you're upset."

"I do not…"

"Okay, fine. If you don't want to say, you don't have to," Uhura interrupted, sounding exasperated.

"I'm going to be late for my shift, so if you could excuse me," Sulu said, squeezing between Uhura and Spock being careful not to touch either of them.

"That means I should go too," said Uhura, giving Sulu a look of thanks as the turbo lift doors opened. "Bye, Spock."

"Goodbye, Nyota."

As soon as the lift doors closed, Spock turned and resumed walking to his quarters. Now he was thoroughly confused, not that he would ever admit that to anyone but himself. He was agitated with the Captain, and confused by Nyota, who seemed annoyed at him. _What was happening? Why was the Captain so good at bringing emotion out of me_? He immediately rejected the first answer that came to mind.

_I should meditate_; he finally decided when he entered his room. He set out the candles and dimmed the lights, and then tried to focus himself. There were mixed results. It took him awhile to focus as his emotions were conflicted and messy. When he finally managed to use the _Enterprise_ as a focus point, he had trouble because it was hard to replace Vulcan. Spock was only able to keep his meditative state for about an hour, but as he calmed down it was not a waste of time. Eventually he decided to put everything away, as the meditation had helped, and he apparently was not going to keep the state any longer.

When Spock finished putting away his mat and candles, the door buzzer sounded. _Who could that be?_ he wondered. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see the Captain, as he had not been expecting anyone.

"Captain."

"Call me Jim. May I come in?" the Captain asked politely, standing outside waiting until he was allowed in. He was holding a chess board under one arm. Spock motioned for him to come inside with one arm, closing the door when he did.

"What is it that you require Captain?"

"As I said before, it's Jim, and I don't require anything, but I thought you might want to play a game of chess. Playing Chekov is fun but I think that you would offer a bit more of a challenge. You do know how to play don't you?" the Captain explained nervously, as though he was scared of how Spock would react.

"I do know how to play, and would be amenable to that course of action… Jim," Spock replied a bit uncertainly.

"Okay then, let's play." he set up the board and so began their first game of chess, from which many would follow, but neither of them knew that yet.

"So Spock," the Captain started after a few quiet minutes of playing, "do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"No," Spock replied.

"Okay, first question. Do you like this?" he asked, indicating in a vague sort of way to the chess game.

"Please specify."

"I mean, do you think that what we are doing is fun?"

"Vulcans do not have the concept of 'fun', however, it is an acceptable pastime."

"Great, that means that we can do this again right," the Captain replied ecstatically.

"I would not be adverse to it."

"Then onto the next question. What did I do today which put you so much on edge?"

"That is a most illogical question, Captain."

"It's Jim, and how is it illogical," Jim asked, obviously a bit offended by Spock's comment.

"To rephrase it, you did nothing to 'put me on edge', as you call it."

"Really, because both Uhura and I could tell that I said something."

"It was nothing beyond your usual ability to be illogical."

"Okay, whatever, and check by the way."

"An interesting move Captain, but I believe that I… yes, Checkmate."

"Aww, you couldn't take it a bit easy on me could you Spock?" the Captain asked sarcastically.

"Bridge to Kirk, you're wanted on the Bridge, Captain," came crackling over the wall communicator, saving Spock from having to answer.

"Thanks, Uhura," he replied, "We're on our way."

Motioning for Spock to follow him, they left Spock's quarters and made their way to the Bridge. Spock was musing about why the Captain had asked his presence, but then he saw the Bridge crew. They had gone completely silent when they, their Captain and First Officer, had walked in together.

"Don't stop your work on account of me," the Captain said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes, sir," everyone replied automatically, and went back to their tasks.

Now Spock realized why the Captain wanted him on the Bridge. It was to see the planet.

The _Enterprise_ had been travelling towards _Tuatara V_ for the past few days, and finally it had reached it.

Spock was fascinated. He ran a few scans to see if the planet held sentient life, which it did, but not much.

"Uhura, please order a security detail to the transporter room," the Captain ordered, planning to go himself. "Spock, you're with me. Mr. Sulu, you have the conn."

"Yes, sir," came the replies as he walked to the turbo lift with Spock.

"Why do you require my input, Captain?" Spock asked once inside the lift.

"I don't, I just thought you might like to stretch your legs a bit. You're also the best science officer on board, so why shouldn't you get to explore the planet." The Captain replied, even though it was also owing to the fact that he felt safer around Spock, which he didn't know.

Spock raised his eyebrow.

When they got to the transporter room, they found that the landing party had assembled including three security officers, Giotto, Markel, and Kim, and Doctor McCoy.

"Oh great, that green blooded hobgoblin is coming too. Thank the stars I thought to come along. You two get in enough trouble to kill everyone else in this room," the Doctor said grumpily.

"It is a pleasure to see you as always to see you doctor," Spock answered emotionlessly.

"Play it nice you two, or you're going in time out," the Captain tried to lighten the mood that Doctor McCoy had introduced.

Everyone but the Doctor and Spock laughed. McCoy started grumbling.

"Yah ready Captain, 'cause the generators…"

"Okay Scotty, Energize."

They were beamed right into the middle of a welcoming committee, bristling with weapons.


	2. Diplomacy

Chapter 2: Diplomacy

"Well, this is fun," the Captain said as the landing party was escorted into the main building in the village they had beamed in to. Spock quietly mused over their predicament, and did not reply.

"See what I mean, you two have such bad luck that it is going to take all of my medical prowess just to keep us alive," Doctor McCoy grumbled in reply.

"What do ya mean, Bones?" the Captain asked, hiding a smile.

"Well, you see…" Doctor McCoy started to rant and list all of the injuries both the Captain and Spock had acquired since the Narada incident.

"Okay, okay, I get it," the Captain started laughing.

"It's not funny," the fuming Doctor almost shouted.

"Doctor, if you cannot your voice at a normal decibel level for humans, please do not talk at all."

"Thanks Spock, I really enjoy being told what to do by a …" Doctor McCoy veered off into mumbled words again.

By now the party had reached the main village house.

"What's happening?" asked Ensign Markel.

The natives had gathered around the group in a large circle. Suddenly, they parted, and the landing party saw what seemed to be the leader walking through the pathway that had opened up.

"Welcome, visitors from the stars. We have had some like you that came from the stars, but were not like you. They destroyed many of my people before we were able to bring them down. We must make sure that you have no evil intentions." The gray, reptilian humanoid said hissing when he said S.

"I'm Captain Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise, we are an exploration vessel, and we value any and all life. This here is my First Officer, Spock, my Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Leonard McCoy, and three security officers, Giotto, Kim, and Markel."

"Best to meet you, we are the Lai'i and I go by the calling of Juka'il Mal'aki."

"Is it okay if I call you Juk?"

Juka'il Mal'aki inclined his head as if to say yes.

"Then can we have our communicators back. You don't need to give us our phasers if you don't trust us, but at least let us be able to contact our ship," the Captain suggested.

"Of course, Captain, we will give you back your communicators, but it will not help you."

"Okay," said the Captain skeptically.

They were given back their communicators, and the Captain immediately contacted the _Enterprise._

"Kirk to Enterprise. Come in Enterprise."

"Uhura here, Captain."

"Can you beam us up?"

"No, Scotty is having some trouble with the transporter, some kind of ionic interference."

The sun was starting to set.

"Okay, thank you Uhura, Kirk out."

The Captain looked at the natives, who had watched them through the whole encounter.

"Would you mind if we stayed the night, as it seems as though our ship is malfunctioning?"

Spock was thinking about how the natives knew they would not be able to be beamed back, and something came to the forefront of his mind.

"Captain," I said moving closer to him to whisper my speculations into his ear.

He started to nod.

"It's okay Spock, I was coming to the same conclusion myself," the Captain replied. "Juk, how did you know that we would be unable to beam back to our ship?"

Juka'il Mal'aki looked surprised, as though he had not expected them to be smart enough to figure that out."

"It was a simple deduction, based on the others that came, as they had the same problems," The Lai'i leader answered calmly, "and now, let us be good hosts. We must celebrate the coming of visitors.

"Wait, what do you mean by others that came, this is the First Contact the Federation has had with this planet?" the Captain asked.

"These others were not from your federation, and as they are no more, I think it wise to forget them," Juka'il Mal'aki quickly replied, starting to walk away.

"Well, they certainly learn fast," Doctor McCoy commented under his breath as their party was pushed to the middle of the village square.

Spock was having trouble avoiding contact with the Lai'i, so the Captain helped by playing interference.

"Sorry, my friend doesn't like to be touched," he said to anyone coming within my personal space.

Spock was startled when he heard this, as he still did not consider them to be friends. Sure, he had heard his older self-speak of how they would have 'a friendship that defines you both', but the Captain and he had not become friends yet. Still, Spock figured that if the Captain considered him his friend, he would consider him his.

As Spock was musing this over in his head, their group was being led to a feasting table. When they reached it, they were seated near the head and all right next to Juk. Spock was shaken out of his reverie when Juk yelled "Everyone will eat their fill, since the coming of the star-people!"

Spock realized that almost all of the food on the table was meat. Kirk had already noticed this, and he called over one of the Lai'i standing off to the side.

"Excuse me, but um, Spock here doesn't eat meat," he said, gesturing to me. "Oh, don't take it personally," he said, taking into account the Lai'i's offended expression. "Spock's culture doesn't allow him."

She nodded, and her expression changed to one of acceptance. She disappeared for a second, and came back with a salad that was made with some kind of red vegetable.

"Thank you," Spock said politely, and the girl who had given him the salad blushed and stuttered.

"Y-you're W-welcome, sir."

"It looks like Spock has made a conquest," McCoy stated, leaning towards Kirk with a mischievous glint in his eye. Kirk and McCoy both shared a look, and then burst out laughing.

"I do not comprehend your meaning, Doctor."

"Yeah, ya do, stop pretending ya don't," McCoy countered.

Spock didn't deign to reply, knowing that McCoy would just make it more confusing.

"Whatever," McCoy said, now getting slightly annoyed with Spock's obtuseness.

After everyone had eaten a sufficient amount of food, and the conversation had begun to drift to how tired everyone was, Kirk stood up.

"Sorry, if I am being rude, but my crew is exhausted, and I would like to ask the question. Are we able to sleep here, since our transporter is disabled?"

"Yes, Captain Kirk, you will stay within our hall," Juk replied, "would your crew like to be led there now?"

"Thank you that would be good." Kirk excused himself, and suddenly toppled over. McCoy, and Spock, who happened to be sitting right next to him caught him before his head hit the ground.

"Jesus, Jim, when will you ever learn that working yourself to this point of exhaustion, isn't good for you," McCoy said to Kirk as he tried not to fall asleep.

"What has happened?"

"Is the Captain alright?" The other members of the away team asked, along with some of the Lai'i.

Spock stood up from his kneeling position next to Kirk.

"The Captain is exhausted from the endeavors of this mission, and according to Doctor McCoy hasn't been sleeping properly, hence his collapse," he stated to those who had come over to see what was happening. Spock once again kneeled, and picked up Kirk.

"If you will lead the way," he indicated that Juk should take them to where they should rest. McCoy was stunned, looking at Spock as though he had lost his mind.

"Doctor, as I am in fact stronger than all of you, and the Captain cannot walk on his own, I will carry him," Spock replied to McCoy's incredulous look.

"This way," Juk interjected, heading of in the direction they had come from to get here. Spock followed close behind with Kirk, who had fallen asleep.

"Here is the hall," Juk stated, when they reached an enormous building. 'I will show each of you to your rooms."

They proceeded inside, with Spock still holding Kirk. Slowly, their party dwindled to just the two of them. Before McCoy went inside his room, he said "Be careful with him, Spock," just as the door closed.

"Here are your rooms," Juk finally pointed to the two at the end of the hall. "Your Captain's is on the right, and yours is on the left."

"Thank you," Spock nodded curtly, and entered Kirk's room. He laid Kirk on the bed, and turned around. He was about to walk out the door when he heard Kirk say his name.

"Spock."

"Yes, Captain."

"I just want to thank you, I know it must have been awkward carrying me back here, and well I just wanted you to know that it was appreciated."

"Thanks are illogical, Captain."

"Yeah, yeah, but seriously, thanks," he said as he drifted off to sleep the second time.

Spock looked at him for a moment, before leaving and retiring to his own room. He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.


	3. Falling Asleep

**AN: Sorry it took me so long! Also really sorry for the shortness and cliffhanger. (: RL caught up with me, along with all of the great stories that I'm reading. Anyway, I'm going to try and update weekly, whenever I can. **

**By the way: Corn spawns on Pluto, and chickens grow on mas. (Don't ask why. My friend told me this to make me laugh.) **

**Finally, PLEASE REVIEW!**

Chapter 3: Falling Asleep

Spock awoke to McCoy shouting outside his door. He quickly got up, and made himself presentable, before exiting the room.

"What do you mean I can't go in there?! I'm his doctor! I need to make sure that he's okay!"

"No, no, it's not like that," Juk said trying to calm McCoy, "it just that you cannot go into the room, until he comes out."

"Damn it man, I don't speak in riddles," McCoy said "are you saying that someone else can go in there, just not me?"

"No, let me explain," Juk replied, glancing to Spock, who, by now, had been about to start arguing as well, "When my people made these rooms, we intended to make it so that everyone would have their privacy. This means that once a person has gone into the room, and fallen asleep, then only the people that were in the room when the person fell asleep are allowed to enter, until the person come out. At which, the room is available to anyone who would like to use it."

"I would be able to enter the Captain's room by that logic," Spock stated, absorbing all the information Juk had told them instantaneously.

"Yes, if you were in there when he fell asleep."

"Wait, you mean that Spock can go in to the room?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"I wasn't asking you, green-blooded hobgoblin, I was asking Juk," said McCoy adopting Kirk's name. "I want to know if Spock will be able to go in there and get the Captain, so that we're able to beam up."

"Yes," Juk replied, "he should be able to enter."

"Then Spock, I need you to go in there and wake up Jim," McCoy said gleefully.

"Are you sure that would be wise, Doctor? The Captain has not been receiving sufficient rest."

"Yes, I damn well know that, but he'll sleep better once he's back on the Enterprise. Also, I might decide that you need your physical right now you green-blooded hobgoblin, if you don't go in and get Jim. I know he's awake, and just drawing this out, so go in and get him."

Spock decided to get Kirk, because McCoy had supplied logical reasoning, definitely not because he was scared of McCoy's threat. That was most definitely not the reason.

Spock walked into Kirk's room, completely prepared for whatever he might see. Or at least he thought he was completely prepared.

"Hey, Spock, come to get me out of bed?" Kirk asked, laughing. He was not wearing his uniform shirt, and his undershirt perfectly defined… no, Spock told his brain, that is not important information.

"Yes, Captain, I believe you overheard the disagreement outside between Dr. McCoy and myself. It would be beneficial to your health to exit, before the doctor decides to risk his own to retrieve you from this room.

"Yeah, I guess I should, I really don't want Bones to get hurt. Did you know he was shocked backwards when he tried to come in here?"

"No, Captain, I did not. Perhaps it would be prudent to exit now before Doctor McCoy attempts to enter again."

"Yeah, okay, let me just put my shirt on," said kirk as he slipped his uniform over his head. He straightened it and walked out of the door. Immediately, he jumped and complained loudly. Apparently, McCoy had been waiting for Kirk to walk through the door, so that he could 'attack' him with hypo sprays.

"Shut up, kid," McCoy said as Kirk jumped away from the hypo sprays yet again.

"Stop jabbing me with those things, and I will. And who are you calling kid, old man!"

"Thank you for getting this overgrown toddler out here, Spock," McCoy sighed, catching Spock by surprise, though of course none of it showed on his face.

"It was the logical thing to do Doctor, as we have finished the exploration of this planet and Starfleet is in all probability requesting our assistance on some other matter."

"Yeah, and you weren't just scared for your life," Kirk snorted. Spock raised his eyebrow. "Yeah, I heard you two arguing. Are you sure that it wasn't the fact that McCoy would take up his threat of giving you your physical right here that convinced you to come in and get me?"

"No, Captain."

Kirk looked at him strangely for a moment, and suddenly burst out laughing. "Geez, Spock you're going to be the death of me," he wheezed as he calmed down.

"I would not intentionally harm you Captain, so as to where…"

"Spock," Kirk said seriously looking straight into his eyes, "I was joking. It's a turn of phrase. I know that you wouldn't harm me. Besides," Kirk continued, smiling, his eyes twinkling mischievously, "who would be mediator between you and Bones if I died? Seriously, you two bicker constantly."

"Captain, I am under the impression that you…"

"I can assure you Jim that…"

"…believe me to be purposely antagonizing the Doctor…"

"Oh really?"

"…when it is completely his own fault…"

"Yeah, well what about when you…"

"Gentlemen, Gentlemen," Kirk said, drawing Spock's and McCoy's attention in his direction. They had turned to face each other as they talked. "Now is not the time to fight, 'cause I'm still dead on my feet, and want to go ho… er, back to the Enterprise."

"Yes, Captain, the Enterprise has been notified."

"Thanks, Spock," Kirk turned around to see the other three crew members of the away team staring at him, Spock and McCoy.

"Having fun?" He said, smiling. Giotto, Markel, and Kim startled and looked sheepishly at their Captain.

"Sorry, sir," they chorused together.

"Yeah, well," Kirk shrugged. "I guess we better get going. Juk, I must say it was a pleasure to meet your people, and I hope that this little exhibition right here," he stopped gesturing towards Spock and McCoy, "Doesn't dissuade you from joining the Federation."

Spock turned to find Juka'il Mal'aki, standing behind them with what passed as a smirk on his face. He had completely forgotten that the Lai'i was there.

"On the contrary, Captain Kirk, it is wonderful to see that the leaders of the Federation's starship are able to relax in any environment. We are honored that you came, and look forward to the negotiations."

"Okay then," Kirk replied smiling brightly. "Scotty, beam us up!"

The last thing Spock remembered was the light of the transporter beam swirling around him, taking him home.


	4. Waking Up

**AN: Sorry for the super long AN, skip if you would like.**

**Okay, so I typed most of this during class, when I was supposed to be taking notes, but for anyone who is reading this, I would like to thank you for continuing to read. This chapter turned out a lot different than I had originally planned, but I think it is better this way. I promise it will get better, so hang in there. Also, I will try to post every Sunday from now on. Now, on with the story. Please review!**

Chapter 4: Waking Up

When Spock woke up, at first he was slightly confused as to where he was. There was a light shining right into his eyes, with a harsh white, bright light. His eyes adjusted quickly, and Spock realized that he was laying in Sick Bay, on one of the biobeds.

"Finally, you're awake. You've been out for about 12 hours. I don't know what happened, but when we beamed back up, both you and Jim collapsed. At first I was extremely worried, but it turned out that both of you had just fallen asleep," McCoy rambled on for a while listing symptoms. "At least now you're awake, which means you can be Acting Captain till Jim decides to wake up."

"The Captain is still asleep," Spock commented, his tone neutral and not betraying any of his worry for Kirk.

"Yes, do you have a theory as to what both of you collapsed from?" McCoy queried, looking at Spock strangely, as if he expected an unpleasant answer.

"No, Doctor, it would appear that the answer to your query is eluding me."

"Really, you can't even guess," McCoy asked skeptically, as if he thought Spock was hiding something.

"Doctor, I cannot speculate because, I have no data with which to speculate."

"Well, I guess it's no use trying to get a straight answer out of you, and since Jim is sleeping, there is no use looking _that_ gift horse in the mouth."

"I am confused as to the meaning of you colloquialism, Doctor."

"It means that I shouldn't go looking for the answer, as long as Jim is going to sleep," McCoy looked at Spock exasperatedly, "I know that seems illogical to you, but he really needs this."

McCoy sounded incredibly worried as he looked towards Kirk's bed. "You should go up to relieve Sulu of duty, Commander," he said, still looking at Kirk's bed, "he's been hiding your "illness"," here he paused making air quotes, "from the Admiralty, so as to ensure we didn't get told off."

"That would be logical Doctor, as I am First Officer aboard this vessel," Spock replied as he walked out of Sick Bay. He quickly made his way up to the bridge, where he relived Sulu of his temporary command.

"Glad your back, sir," Sulu said as he stood up and walked over to his pilot's seat, relieving the ensign sitting there.

Spock sat down in Kirk's chair, for it could never be his, not until Kirk died.

"Orders are coming in, sir," Uhura glanced over, "would you like me to put them through?"

"Yes, Lieutenant," Spock replied, thinking about what he would say, when they found out that Kirk was incapacitated.

"Really, Spock, you would listen to them without me?"

Everyone on the Bridge, except for Spock, surprised that their Captain had chosen this specific moment to walk out of the turbo lift. Spock stood up, and walked towards Kirk.

"Orders, have just come in, sir."

"I know, Mr. Spock, I heard," Kirk replied, with his usual gleaming smile.

Spock nodded, and went back to the science station, where he normally sat.

"Put'em up, Uhura," Kirk said, sitting down. Admiral Pike came into view, looking a bit put out.

When he saw that he was addressing the entire bridge, Pike sighed. "I guess you all have a right to know," he paused, and continued, "For your next mission, you'll be escorting a troupe of actors to a diplomatic conference in the Plutotian system. They were specifically requested as entertainment for a diplomatic meeting." Here, Pike paused again. He had sounded a bit sarcastic throughout the entire debriefing.

"Yes, Admiral," Kirk said, noticing that something was wrong. "I'll take the rest of the mission in the debriefing room," he said to the Admiral, before turning to the bridge crew. "Command crew, you're with me. Uhura please request Scotty and Bones' presence."

"Yes, sir," Uhura said, immediately coming both men. "The Captain requests your presence in the debriefing room immediately."

She stood up as soon as she confirmed that they were both on their way.

"Then, follow me," Kirk said as he led the way into the debriefing room. He walked in, and Admiral Pile was already on screen. They waited for McCoy and Scotty, so that they could start with Pike's explanation. Soon, everyone was there. "Okay, shoot," Kirk said to Pike, as soon as Scotty had been able to grab a seat.

"Kirk, this is incredibly serious. Are you sure that you will trust everyone in this room completely?" Pike, asked. Immediately Kirk's face became guarded.

"What information are you planning to tell them?" he asked in reply. His PADD beeped. He turned to read what had appeared. As he read, his face became whiter and whiter.

"Damn it, Jim, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Bones," Kirk said weakly.

"Wait, kid." Kirk passed the PADD over to McCoy. He read the contents quickly, losing his colour almost as quickly as Kirk had. "Shit," he commented softly, getting up and sitting next to Kirk. "Well kid," he said, rubbing a comforting hand on his back, "you still have to decide, whether you want everyone else to know."

"Now is as good a time as any, I guess," Kirk looked around. "Whatever happens next never leaves this room, you hear me," he became incredibly serious as the colour returned to his face, "The information you are about to hear is top secret. The Federation did not want any of this to leak out, if it had the Press would have had a free day." He paused for a second. "I'm sure you've all heard about Tarsus IV," he laughed nervously, "Hell, they even had a class on it."

Everyone nodded, excepting Spock who just stared straight ahead.

Kirk sighed, "Okay, Pike you're clear. Go ahead and explain this mission to them."

"Thank you, Kirk. You will be transporting a troupe of actors from Crid I to Bathel XII, in The Plutonian system," here pike stopped for emphasis, "That is all a cover. What you will be investigating as you 'transport' these actors is if one of them could be a murderer. Now here comes the hard part to explain. As you all know, there used to be a planet called Tarsus IV. A special fungus ate up most of their crops, and the colony was starving. Governor Kodos, now called Kodos the Executioner, decided that the best way for the colony to survive was to eliminate the bottom half of the population. He committed mass genocide, and by the time Starfleet alive, there were only nine survivors of said genocide. Earlier this month, three were killed when a coffee shop imploded. Four more were killed in a supposed accident. The only connection we were able to draw was that the dance troupe was in both locations when they died and or were killed."

Pike paused to breathe.

"That means there are two other survivors, does it not Admiral?" Spock said, having already come up with a hypothesis of who at least one of the two Tarsus IV survivors were and where they were located.

"Yes, you would be correct Commander," Pike sighed again, "and both survivors are currently aboard the USS Enterprise. I'll leave it to the Captain to decide if he would like to tell you who they are. Having both of the survivors gives the Enterprise a significant advantage, as they are more able to distinguish if someone has a grudge against Tarsus victims." Pike's eyes rested on Kirk, who looked as if he was about to start hyperventilating, for a second.

"Jim, just remember that you need to figure how much trust your crew, Pike out." His picture faded off of the viewing screen.

Everyone turned to Kirk as Pike's words sunk in.

"Captain, to what was Admiral Pike referring?" Spock inquired conscious that Kirk was uncomfortable, and that no one else had seen what he saw, excepting Doctor McCoy.

Kirk took a deep breath.

"I guess, I should tell you guys shouldn't I," he leaned on the table, and put his head in his hands. "You might want to sit down," he said to Spock and Uhura, who had been standing during the debriefing, "this is a long and taxing story, and I can only say one thing," he paused, "don't tell anyone else about what I am about to say, and most of all, do not pity me."

Spock and Uhura both sat across from Kirk.

"Okay, so I begin. Once there was a planet called Tarsus IV…"


	5. Flashback

AN: So, I started this chapter while school was on lockdown, and didn't have anything to so. This one is really angsty, as it is the memories of Jim's time on Tarsus IV, just be prepared. I am really sorry this took so long to post. I know I skipped two Sundays. Two! But I promise that I will do better. If anyone gets references I will love you forever. Also, please review.

Chapter 5: Flashback

"Okay, so I begin. Once there was a planet called Tarsus IV. As I'm sure you've all guessed, I'm one of the five, now two survivors of the genocide there. This is my story.

I was stuck in an overnight cell, for driving my stepdad's car over the cliff, when I was 10 years old. I wanted to be with my dad, but some instinct urged me to jump from the car to save myself. When they let me out finally, I waited outside for almost an hour before someone came to get me. At first, I didn't know who had bailed me out, and then left me waiting. I was sure that it wasn't my mom, or Frank, because they both didn't care what happened to me. A hovercar finally appeared in front of me, and a women steppe out. At first I thought that my mom had actually decided to get me out of jail, but she held herself differently.

"I'm your mother's sister. We've never met before, because Winona thinks I would be a bad influence, but as she isn't coming to get you, I figured I would."

"You're really my mother's sister," I responded skeptically. Why had mom never mentioned her? Pff, it's just like her to shove me off on some poor relation. I thought, hurt at the fact that my own mother didn't care about me. However, this wasn't really news to me, she was indifferent whenever I talked to her. After a while, I became numb to it.

"Yep, and my husband and I are taking you to a colony off world. Your mom commed John and I saying you had been arrested, and that while she didn't want you in jail, she couldn't have you at home any more. We suggested that we take you to the new colony on Tarsus IV and she agreed," she explained, sounding sincere. "Johnny and I already collected your belongings from home, so we're leaving now. I hope that's okay with you." We walked to the car and got in.

"Yeah, that's fine," I responded, not knowing that agreeing to this would lead me into the most terrifying time of my life. If I could go back, I would have tried to convince my aunt and uncle not to go.

"That's great, James."

"My name is Jim," I said, wanting to clear that up as quickly as possible.

"Okay then, Jim it is, my name is Cassandra, and your uncle's name is John," she replied, "You can call me Cassie."

"Thanks," I said, astounded by how easily I was accepted by Cassie. By this time we had been driving for a while. Cassie turned down a road, and the spaceport came into view.

"Woa!" I said, seeing the port for the first time. I was immediately impressed.

"Yeah, it's really interesting seeing the space ort for the first time, isn't it," she said, amused at my exclamation.

"Yeah, it is really interesting." We parked and walked towards the shuttle we would be taking.

"Cass, didja get 'im?" someone called across, waving from the shuttle.

"Yeah, John, he's right here," Aunt Cassie called back.

"Good, I was afraid he give you some kind of trouble," Uncle John replied, smiling down at me when we reached the shuttle.

"Naw, I figured Aunt Cassie would disown me if I tried," I said, trying to lighten the mood even more.

"That she would, that she would," he said laughing.

"Are we gonna stand here all day, making jokes at my expense, or are we gonna take this shuttle up and go?" Cassie said trying to sound mad, but ending up laughing just as hard as Uncle John and I.

"Well then let's go," Uncle John said, and we went to find our seats. The ship that was transporting us along with a whole bunch of scientists who were going to help develop better ways to farm on Tarsus. It was called the USS Crane, and it was an exploration turned transport ship. It had room for everyone along with the crew. The trip took about around a week. On the ship I got to know my Uncle and Aunt better, and I was surprised by how much attention they paid to me. They were upset if I got hurt, and they worried if I didn't eat. It was the most attention I had gotten from anyone, excluding my brother. My brother left me though, when Frank decided that he was in charge. Sam was disgusted with home, and he couldn't deal with it anymore, so he left. Huhh… anyway continuing.

We reached Tarsus and I immediately fell in love with the place. I started my new life, and was accepted into the advanced school there. Since it was agricultural, we grew all of our own food, and made sure that I wasn't allergic to any of it. I loved my life. I made friends, and even got to speak to Kodos, the governor, because one of my science projects had helped raise the efficiency of the generators in the school. Everything was perfect for a while, but towards the end of my third year on the colony something started to go wrong. When I went to school I would pass people starting to starve. I was scared and then people started disappearing. Soon I wasn't allowed out of sight of the house. After about a week, Kodos soldiers came a knocking. My Uncle and Aunt hid me in the basement, and I stayed there. I heard the arguing and gunshots. The soldiers left. Apparently they had believed my family's story that I had gone on a field trip with my school.

"Aunt Cassie, Uncle John, are you there?" I called out once the soldier were gone and I didn't hear anything else. I came out of the basement and was rewarded with the sight of my Aunt and Uncle's bodies bleeding out on the floor. I knew something was wrong then. I took as much food as I could carry, and ran out of the house. I survived for three days in the wilderness before having to go back into town. The good thing about my Aunt and Uncle's house was that it was right on the edge of the town we were in, which meant I didn't have to go through the town's center. For food though, I did. I was appalled at what I saw, bodies piled in heaps on the road. I stole food and took it from those who were still alive. Once I was stopped by a dying woman.

"Please, have mercy, save my little boy," she said with her last breath, pointing to a little boy named Kevin that I had babysat more than once. He was crying a little ways away, petting his dog who had been killed in the massacre.

"I promise that he will be safe," I responded. Kevin was like my little brother, and I would do anything to help him. I have kept that promise until today. Anyway, onward.

"Kevin would you like to come with me?" I asked as I approached him slowly. He nodded and I picked him up along with all the food I had stolen. I realized that if Kevin had survived maybe some other kids had. I looked through the rubble and rubbish in the streets as well as the houses for kids. BY the end of my search I had found 7 others excluding Kevin. Now, while I wasn't the oldest I was the one who had been surviving the longest alone. So I became the leader.

"We have to find shelter before the soldiers come back. But first," I paused looking for the two oldest, "Tom and Lisa, search for food, because I don't have enough to feed everyone and I won't let you starve."

"Yes, Jim," hey chorused together accepting my authority completely. Everyone knew everyone here, so that's how we knew everyone's name.

"Don't call me Jim," I said, because it brought back too many memories of my family. "From now on I'm JT."

That was the last time I spoke about anything related to me unless it was an order.

"Stay here, I have to get food."

"Be careful, soldiers are lurking around here."

"Run, fuck RUN!"

The last one was when the soldiers finally found us. I had kept my kids alive through thievery and murder. I had killed soldiers to keep them from finding our hideout in the cave, but it didn't work. They found us anyway. We were taken directly to Kodos.

"So, you have been the ones that have been killing my soldiers." He stated seriously with a steely hard gaze, looking at each of us in turn. His eyes lingered on me longer any of the others. He turned to order for the kill, but Starfleet burst into the room just at that moment. Kodos managed to escape going thru a back door, but Starfleet stopped him from killing us. My kids and I didn't just the new people, in their clean uniforms, with their guns. We had lost trust for everyone else long ago. No one helped us during the famine, so we didn't expect anyone to help us now.

We were sent to recovery and put into separate rooms. This was their first mistake. After the first night they moved us all to a big recovery room together. We got better and eventually they released us to our families. I was transferred to a hospital on Earth, as I had sustained more injuries then all of my kids combined. I had to protect them. When I was finally released from the hospital, I waited outside for a long time, waiting for someone to get me.

My brother Sam finally came and got me. I hated him for leaving me, but he took me in when my mother left me. I only went back to Iowa about a month before Pike found me in that bar. Sam raised me, and even though I still don't have a perfect relationship with him, at least I know that he'll be there when I need him. And that my friend is the story of how I survived Tarsus IV."

Kirk finished. His entire command crew stared at him.

"Let's go, Jim," McCoy said, leading him out of the ready room. Kirk left to the complete silence he had instilled.


	6. Worrying

AN: Sorry this took so long guys. I just want to thank you for being patient. This is hopefully the last chapter with Jim's POV, but no promises. Thanks, keep on reading. Reviews?

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Chapter 6: Worrying

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As Jim and Doctor McCoy exited the room, Spock stood up. The rest of the bridge crew sat there, in stunned silence, thinking about what their Captain and friend had gone through.

"We must return to our posts," Spock said, attempting to get the crew's attention. Immediately they looked up.

"Did you know about this?" Uhura asked, because she had seen how close Kirk and Spock were. They were practically attached at the hip and, though she knows Spock would never admit it, Spock wouldn't know what to do if Kirk was severely injured.

"I did not," he paused," however, when the Captain started speaking I had a hypothesis. It has since been proven correct."

"You guessed!" Uhura was shocked, but also not surprised at the same time.

"I proposed a thesis based on facts I knew. It was then proven true."

"So, you guessed."

Spock did not sigh, but it was a near thing.

"As I stated before we must return to duty. We still have approximately 31 minutes and 52 seconds left of alpha shift."

"Do ya think the Captain will be there?" asked Scotty.

"I cannot speculate at this time."

"He won't be there. Did you see how quickly he left the room?" interjected Uhura.

Everyone looked at her. "He isn't going to be there for the rest of shift. McCoy probably got him off on some medical thing."

"We still must finish our shift. The Captain will want the ship to be safe. While I am not able to say what he desires, it is my belief that we should 'carry on as normal' to borrow a popular idiom."

"Yes, I think we should all listen to Spock."

"Let's go!"

With Scotty's exclamation the whole bridge crew filed out of the room and went back to their station on the bridge. Jim was sitting in his chair, which surprised all of them, except for Spock, who knew that nothing would come between Jim and his ship.

XXX Field Trips XXX

Jim watched as his crew came out. All of them were surprised that he was on the bridge.

_Well I can't blame them_, he thought, _but if they really think that I'm going to leave my ship and crew, my home and family, to go without me because of something that happened to me as a kid, then they have less faith in me as I thought. At least Spock isn't surprised_, he added as he looked over to his first officer. _Huh, what will it get for him to notice me?_

He turned back to the screen.

"Mr. Sulu, how long till we reach Crid I?"

"Approximately 45 minutes, Captain."

"Okay, good, Mr. Spock, you have the conn. Call me up ten minutes to arrival."

"Yes, Captain."

Jim got up and left, intending to go see McCoy for a while to get some of the weight of his shoulders. The last thing he saw before entering the turbo lift was his loyal crew working diligently.

_Home_, he thought as the doors closed, _it never gets old_.

XXX Field Trips XXX

Spock watched as Jim walked away.

_Am I worthy of the Captain? _A small voice in his head said. He blocked it put and continued working. Jim was one of the best captains in Starfleet, even though he was the youngest. There had been many more qualified officers vying for the position of First Officer aboard the Enterprise, and yet he had given the job to Spock.

To say he was surprised would be an understatement.

Spock thought that Jim hated him, thinking that Jim probably also thought that he hated him, even though it wasn't true. Spock didn't hate Jim, even after that fateful day on the bridge. He still found himself strangely drawn to him, as if he was a fish drawn to a hook. Spock shook himself imperceptibly, saving these thoughts for later on. He turned to the viewing screen. Hopefully the run would go smooth, and Jim would finally have this off his shoulders. Spock sighed internally, _only 30 minutes are left._

XXX _Field Trips _XXX

When Jim had walked to his room 35 minutes ago, he was still trying to find a way to get out of doing the mission. He was worried that Kevin would hear about it. Jim took a short nap, trying to calm down. About ten minutes before he was supposed to go to the Bridge, his door buzzer sounded.

"Hullo?" He asked, giving permission for the person to enter. He sat up and was presentable when Kevin walked in.

"Jim?" he said, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he put down his head and sighed, "I guess you heard, huh?"

"Yeah, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't put on the roster to look after them. I'm not sure I could resist killing him, if it is him."

"You, don't think you can stop from killing him, what about me. I promised I'd protect you, I can't let him hurt you. I'll take you off the roster."

"Thanks JT," Kevin said reverting back to Jim's nickname during the genocide.

"I'll always help you, you know that right Kev."

"Yeah."

"Good."

Jim turned to Kevin. "I have to go to the Bridge now, but if you want to, you can stay here."

"No, I should probably go back to Engineering. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." With that, Kevin left and 2 minutes later Jim went up to the Bridge.

"Captain on the Bridge," Spock said as he exited the Turbo lift, standing up from the Captain's chair he had been sitting in.

"At ease, Mr. Spock." Jim sat down, and Spock took his place behind the Captain's chair.

"We're within receiving distance, Captain," Uhura said.

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

_Only 7 more minutes to wait._


End file.
